Crimping apparatus



June 16, 1964 w. RAINARD ETAL 3,137,055

CRIMPING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed Sept. 23, 1959 ATTORNEY June 16, 1964 1 w. RAINARD ETAL 3,137,055

CRIMPING APPARATUS Original Filed Sept. 25, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 16, 1964 L. W. RAINARD ETAL CRIMPING APPARATUS Original Filed Sept.- 23, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORN EY Patented .lime 16, 1964 This invention relates to apparatus for crimping fibers,V

filaments, tow or yarn and more particularly to apparatus of the stutter crimper type wherein the material Vto be crimped is fed into a closed chamber against the pressure of` a mass of crimped material held compacted therein.

In accordance with this invention the iibers in the form of filaments or tow in 'continuous or staple form, or yarn spun from such fibers or composed of twisted or yuntwisted bundles of continuous filaments or tow, hereinafter referred to generally as fibers, are crimped by being fed between feed rolls into a confined crimping chamber against the pressure of a mass of fibers held compacted therein whereby the iibers are folded over into a zig-zag crimp as they enter the chamber from thebite of the feed Y rolls.

The iibers are compacted in a confined crimping zone Y at thebitelof the feed rolls by: a control member in the form of one or a pair of wheels mounted to rotate about Y axes, which extend normal to the axes ofthe feed rolls and extend peripherally into the crimping chamber adjacent the bite of the feed rolls to form a constriction in thel chamber` for retarding to a controlled extent'tne passage of the mass of packed fibers, and thereby maintaining a controlled crimping pressure.V The wheels may be drivenat a fixed rate to the drive of the feed rolls which maybe adjustable for control purposes, or a controlled pressure may be obtained by driving the/wheels at a constant speed and driving the feedrrolls through a constant torque clutch. i f As a further embodiment the control may be effected by Vone or a pair of threaded pins extending into the crimping chamber to provide a predetermined constriction adjacent the bite of the feed rolls.

In addition the pressure on 'the mass of fibers in heating and cooling zones may be controlled by additional pairs of wheels disposed at the exit ends of the respective zones and driven at controlled rates which may be adjusted individually.

Insome cases a suitable control Wheel may be disposed at the exit .endof the chamber for controlling the discharge of the crimped mass of fibers and the withdrawal and winding of the crimped filaments, tow or yarn there- Y from Thedetails of the invention will be apparent from they following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which certain specic examples have been set forth for purposes of illustration.V

In the drawings: i -Y FIG. l is a vertical section of a crimping apparatus embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a Vertical section taken on `the line 2 2 of AUnited States Patent Oe f vPIG. 7 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 6; and Y FIG. 8 is a vertical section taken on the line 8 8 of FIG. 7 with parts broken away.

In the embodiments of FIGS. l to 3 the crimper is shown as comprising a base 1 carrying a block 2 having a bore in which a sleeve 3 is seated. A tube 4 forming the crimping chamber is mounted in the sleeve 3 and is clamped thereto by a nut 6 on the split lower end 7` of the sleeve 3. A pair of feed rolls 10 and 1l are mounted on shafts 12 and 13 respectively which are journalled in brackets 14 and 15 carried by the base 1.- The bracket 15 is shown as mountedY for pivotal movement and is spring-loaded by a spring 16 tohold the feed rolls 1t) and` 11 in gripping contact with a tow or yarn 2t) to be fed thereby into the end of the tube 4. VThe lower yend of the tube 4 is saddle-shaped to receive the rolls 10 and 11 and to'form, with the bite of saidrolls, a confined crimping chamber.' l

.The shafts 12 and 13 are connected by intermeshing gears `21 and 22, and the shaft 12 vis driven by a driving pulley 23 from a source of power not shown. The rolls 10 and 11 maybe connected to the shafts 12 and 13 through constant torque clutches 24 and 24a which may be of the mechanical or magnetic type.

A pair of control wheels 30, 31 are mounted on shafts 32, 33, respectively journalled in brackets 34, 3S on the vbase 1. The bracket 34 may be pivotally mounted and spring-pressed by spring 36 to permit the wheel 30 to be retracted for the passage of a mass of material within the tube 4. y l The shafts 32, 33 are connected by intermeshing gears 37 vfor operation in unison and the shaft V32 may be driven from the feed roll shaft 12 by` a gear train comprising a worm 49 on the shaft 12, a worm wheel 41, and pinion 42 on an idler shaft 43j, and a gear 44 on the shaft The wheels 3i), 31. may have a smooth or serrated or toothed surface and serveto restrict the feed of the mass of crimped material in the tube 4 so as to control the feed pressure of the material in the crimping zone between the wheels 30, 31 and the bite of the feed rolls 10, 11.

The portion of the tube 4`within the block 2 may be heated by heating rods 54 or the like and the fibers may be guided to the feed rolls 10, 11 by a guide 55 and tensioning gate 56.

In the operation of this embodiment the fibers in the crimping chamber or zone are maintainedV under a selected crimping pressure which may be higher or lower than the pressure in the setting chamber or Zone. The pressure in the crimping zone is determinedby the relavtiveratesof drive of the feed rolls 1t), 1l and the control wheelsti and 31 while the pressure in the setting zone is determined by the rate/of the control wheels 30, 31, the rate of the delivery rolls 52 and the weight of the plug Bil.

It may be preferable to drive the shaft 12 at a rate to supply fibers into the crimping zone in excess of the rate of feed of the mass of crimped fibers in the wheels 30, 31 and to adjust the constant torque clutches 24 and 24a Vso that the feed rolls maintain a constant pressure within the crimping Zone which is independent of the rate of feed of the wheels 30, 31.

Of course the drive of the delivery rolls may be controlled by the movement of the plug 50 so as` to maintain the mass of crimped material in the tube 4 at a substantially constant level at the exit end. Y Y

In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 a plurality of control wheels are provided to control independently the pressures in the crimping, heating and cooling zones.

In this form the base 1, block 2, feed rolls 10, 11 are 3 similar to the corresponding elements of FIGS. 1 to 3 and have been given the same reference numerals.

The tube 4a of FIGS. 4 and 5 extends above the block 2 and two'pairs of control wheels 60, 61, 62, 63 are mounted to rotate about axes parallel to the feed rolls and 11 and are disposed to pass through slots in the tube 4a at spaced points above the block 2. The wheels 60, 61 are shown as mounted on brackets 64, 65, respectively, carried by the base 1 and engage the mass of fibers within the tube 4a at the exit end of the heating zone. The wheels 62, 63 are mounted on the brackets 66 and 65 and engage the crimped material near the discharge end of the tube 4a. Cooling' fins 68 may be disposed on the tube 4a between the wheels 60, 61 and the wheels` 62and 63. The brackets 64 and 66 may be pivoted and adjustably spring-pressed by springs 69 and 7 0 respectively, to allow for passage of irregular masses of crimped bers therebetween.

The feed rolls 10, 11 are connected to be driven by a shaft 71 from an adjustable drive such as a Reeves drive indicated by box 73. The control wheels 30, 31 are connected by a shaft 74 to be similarly driven from the drive box 73. Control wheels 60, 61 are driven by shaft 75 from a variable speed drive indicated by box 77 and control wheels 62, 63 are similarly driven from a gear box 78. The boxes 73, 77 and 78 are driven by a common drive shaft 79. 4

The crimped tow or yarn is withdrawn from the top of the tube 4a by delivery rolls 81 through a gate 82. In operation the action within the crimping Zone is similar to that described above. The pressure on the mass of crimped fibers in the tube 4a within the heating Zone is controlled by the rate of drive of the control wheel 60, 61 and the pressure on the mass of crimped fibers within the cooling zone is controlled by the rate of drive of the control wheels 62, 63. Since these controls are independent the pressures within the three zones may be adjusted as desired. For example, a predetermined relatively high pressure may be maintained in the crimping zone to effect the desired crimp characteristics. A substantially lower pressure may be maintained in the heating zone so that the mass of fibers is relaxed or opened somewhat to facilitate the uniform heating of the fibers to the temperature required for setting. Then the pressure may be increased in the cooling Zone to a'value intermediate the first two mentioned pressures so as to hold the crimp fully formed while the fibers cool to a temperature at which the crimp is permanently set.

In the discharge Zone above the level of the control wheels 62, 63, there is no appreciable pressure on the fibers within the tube 4a. Hence the tow or yarn can be extracted from the mass by the delivery rolls with a minimum of tension on the material. The crimp is thus retained in the fibers without subjecting them to mechanical distortions.

Alternatively, it may be desirable to exert the highest pressure on the fibers in the crimping zone, then subject the fibers to progressively lower pressures in the heating and cooling zones. This or other combinations can readily be effected by suitable adjustment of the drives for the various sets of wheels. Y

In the embodiments of FIGS. 6 to 8, the block 8 and feed rolls 10 and 11 are similar to that above described.

The feed rolls are mounted to feed the yarn for crimping into the end of a tube 4b.

A control Wheel 95 is disposed at the exit end of the tube 4b and the tube is bent around the periphery of the wheel 95 to provide an increased area of contact between the Wheel and the mass of fibers in the tube.

The wheel 95 is shown as provided with ratchet-shaped teeth 96 having radial sides 97 facing the oncoming fibers within the tube. Stripper plate 98 is positioned to strip and support the fibers which have been discharged onto the periphery of the wheel 95. The crimped fibers are withdrawn through a tension gate 82 by a pair of delivery rolls 100.

The construction of this embodiment is similar to that above described.

The wheel 95 is driven from the shaft 1,2 of the feed roll 10 by a gear train 101-104. The ratio may be selected so that the back pressure on the fibers in the tube 4b can be controlled as desired. The fibers are withdrawn by the delivery rolls with a minimum of tension.

It is to be understood that the control wheels inthe various embodiments may be smooth-surfaced or roughened, or toothed, as desired, and the relative speeds are adjustable for obtaining the desired pressure effect on the fibers.

The crimping tube 4, 4a and 4b has been shown as circular in section. It may, however, be rectangular or elongated in the direction of the axes of the feed rolls, in which case the control wheels 60 to 63 of FIGS. 4 and 5, or the control wheel 95 of FIGS. 6 to 8, may rotate about axes parallel to the axes of the feed rolls 10 and 11 and may have an axial length corresponding to the width of the tube so as to ensure the uniform feed of the mass or crimped fibers in the tube. n

This application is a divisional of my copending application U.S. Serial No. 841,880,`filed September 23, 1959, Patent No. 3,096,558.

What is claimed is:

A stuffer crimper comprising an elongated chamber, feed rolls disposed to feed fibers into one end of said chamber to be folded over and crimped due to the pressure of the Ymass of previously crimped fibers in said chamber, said feed rolls being adapted to exert pressure for advancing the mass of crimpedfibers along said chamber to a discharge point, and a control wheel positioned adjacent the discharge end of said chamber and having its periphery projecting into said chamber, said chamber being curved around a portion of the periphery of said control wheel to alter the direction of movement of the fibers in said chamber as they advance around said wheel, said feed rolls and said control wheel being driven at a predetermined ratio so as to control the back v pressure on the fibers in said chamber in the zone be- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,000,059 Russo et al. Sept. 19, 1961 3,027,619 List et al. Apr. 3, 1962 

